By NATALIE GOULD
Editor-In-Chief
March 17, 2010

LAFAYETTE – Sitting at the end of Lafayette is the American Café. With a message board that reads “authentic Southern sweet tea,” how can one resist? The sign is nothing fancy or even adorned for that matter, but it is large and loud, screaming nothing short of, “Come inside for a piece of America.”

Janet LeMaster has owned the American Café since April 2006. Her goal for the restaurant is to “serve food the way it used to be.” In fact, that very statement composes the front of the plastic encased menu.

“We are very patriotic people,” La- Master says. Her husband is a former Marine and they both come from patriotic families, which is perhaps motivation to fill a restaurant full of red, white, and blue paraphernalia. Upon walking into the American Café, one gets the feeling that everyday is the Fourth of July. Even on a cold February morning, patriotism fills the vicinity and the countenance of the diners. The nostalgic counter is lined with authentic brown, leather, buttoned swivel chairs rooted to the elevated floor.

“Breakfast is my favorite meal,” LaMaster says of her rationale when filling the menu primarily with breakfast food. Steak and eggs, grits, cinnamon rolls, and corned beef hash are just a few of the breakfast delights. But the star of the breakfast cast is the famous biscuits and gravy. Huge fluffy homemade biscuits covered in thick sausage gravy allure the diner, especially because the price starts at under $4.00. The single biscuit and gravy order is more than enough for one person to eat.

Family recipes are compiled to make the perfect all-American menu. Burgers, soups, chili, and hand-cut fries are found on the back of the three-page menu; the most expensive item on the menu is a mere $10.95.

By far the biggest pulling point to the American Café is the Southern sweet tea. This is not watery, sugared down Lipton, folks. We’re talking honest to goodness, fly me to the Deep South, overall-wearin’ Southern sweet tea. Take it from someone who can differentiate between imposters  and the real thing, this is the real deal. “Not a day goes by someone doesn’t ask about my sweet tea recipe,” La- Master says. She is so secretive about the recipe that she has the tea bags sent to her home, she pulls the tags off, and brings them to the restaurant in an incognito box.

As of March, LaMaster and her husband are no longer the owners of the American Café, not in Lafayette at least. They are opening an American Café in a small Idaho town. The new owner of the Lafayette restaurant is Holly Tasoulas. She plans to continue the American Café as it has been for the last four years, perhaps incorporating a few more Southern specialties to the already Southern influenced menu.

As for the sweet tea recipe, “The recipe will be handed over with the keys,” LaMaster says. She says that all other procedures and recipes were handed over when the sale was final, but the sweet tea recipe is so top secret that it cannot be handed until keys are in hand.

The American Café is open seven days a week from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Seating is first come first serve. Credit cards are not accepted, cash and debit cards only. It is located at 176 W 3rd St. Lafayette, OR.